Home - Cars - News - Engines - Resources - History - Repairs - Links - Search - Books - Forums

Allpar (Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth enthusiasts)

March 22, 2002: Are Chryslers more reliable than Mercedes?

The famous "unbiased" consumer magazine which won't let us drop their name seems to indicate, in its annual reliability survey, that there is no Mercedes which can match up to the least reliable Chrysler. We looked at the C-class, E-class, S-class, SLK CLK, and M-class, and found that only the E-class and SLK were above average, and not by enough to be rated "above average." The less said by Mercedes about the CLK and M-class, the better. Meanwhile, Chrysler had some shining vehicles - the PT Cruiser and 300M - while others, the Sebring and Concorde, were just about average. The minivans fell a bit short - not enough to be rated "below average" - but all were pooled together (so we don't know if the Chrysler was better or worse than the Dodge), as were the Chrysler Sebrings made by Chrysler and those (reportedly less reliable) made by Mitsubishi. Generally, though, no Chrysler was rated below average, while two Mercedes were - pretty far below, in fact. The PT Cruiser neatly beat every Mercedes.

Unfortunately, we don't actually believe this magazine's reliability ratings, but they do give us some good ammo against any snobby Volvo, Mercedes, or BMW owners we might come across.

Meanwhile,

March 22, 2002: Ram scores well in crash test

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the 2002 Dodge Ram a "good" rating for its high-speed front-offset crash test, a substantial improvement over the 2001's "poor" designation. "Good" is the highest category, though the IIHS also designates some vehicles as a "best pick" (including the Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Lancer).

March 21, 2002: Neon tests well on the track

Tommy Boy wrote this encouraging news: "Fellas, by now we're sick of the Neon being dissed by all the major rags when it comes to multi-car comparos. I'd like to point your attention to the May 2002 issue of Grassroots Motorsports, available at Borders bookstore. You can view the cover online at the mag's website, www.grmotorsports.com. Anyway, this was no highbrow, stuffy whine-fest... they [took] 7 'pocket rockets under $20,000' to the local autocross to see how they matched up. While they were there, they put each car on a chassis dyno and also measured 0-60 times. The cars included 2002 versions of the Mazda MP3, VW Golf GTI turbo, Nissan Sentra SE-R, Focus SVT, Civic Si, Hyundai Tiburon V6, and the Neon ACR. ... When all was said and done, the Neon finished mid-pack in 0-60 (7.9 seconds). But on the roadcourse the Neon spanked the others like a cruel stepmother. It finshed the course at least 1.5 seconds ahead of the Focus, and 2 or 3 seconds ahead of everything else. They loved the handling, saying if I remember, that with the car dialed in right (bear in mind it has adjustable suspension pieces from the factory) it had as close to perfect handling as it gets in this class. They found some complaint with every other car in the test, concerning handling. All this, gents, and it was easily the cheapest car in the test to boot!"

March 21, 2002: New special edition minivan

Just in time for spring and summer vacation, the Chrysler brand will introduce a limited edition Town & Country eX Touring Edition minivan. Chrysler's new vacation minivan model will start to arrive in dealerships by April. "We built this minivan for the people who love to rack up frequent driver miles on family vacations," said Tom Marinelli, Vice President, Chrysler/Jeep® Global Brand Center. "Our new Chrysler Town & Country eX Touring Edition is perfect for those who want to travel to and from their vacation destinations in comfort, luxury and style." \The 2002 Chrysler Town & Country eX Touring Edition is the company's first vehicle to feature a factory-installed flip-down (from the roof) 7 x 6.4-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) screen and a DVD unit that plays both DVDs and CDs. The model also comes complete with two sets of minivan-first wireless headphones, two minivan-first removable power center consoles, a beverage cooler bag insert for the console, and unique aluminum wheels.

Other features include a power-up and power-down liftgate, split 50/50 roller rear seats, three-zone temperature control, four-wheel disc brakes with traction control, and a 215-horsepower 3.8 liter V-6 engine.

The sticker price is just over $28,000, including destination charge. It will be built at the "better" plant in Windsor.

Chrysler noted that their market share has tripled from 1 to 3 percent, though it should be noted that ending the Plymouth brand and selling the Plymouth Voyager as the Chrysler Voyager probably had something to do with that.

March 18, 2002: Another survey rates Chrysler above Mercedes

The Strategic Vision survey this year put Mercedes-Benz 31st out of 35 brands for quality, just slightly ahead of Hyundai, according to USA Today. 14% of Mercedes owners reported problems in the first three months of ownership. More details to follow.

March 17, 2002: Iaccoca blasts Schrempp

Detroit News has three major articles on Lee Iaccoca and his reaction to the events at Chrysler. Notable are his opinion of Bob Eaton - viewed as an incompetent coward - and a note that Schrempp, on seeing Iaccoca's Chrysler and Lincoln, said he'd send Iaccoca a real car, with a Mercedes S-class soon following. (Schrempp might run Chrysler, but it's plain to see that he thinks it's essentially worthless - aside from some profits to bleed off and some plants to sell.)

Here are the articles:Iacocca wants >in; Schrempp says no